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A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and does what he wants to do. - Dylan Cool JPG |
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Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. - Einstein |
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September 22, 2004 So I'm reading today that Cat Stevens was the reason a plane was diverted from landing in DC, and he was later denied entry to the US because of security concerns. Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam, songwriter singer '60's POP ICON. What the hell has this country been reduced to? Well, maybe it was his 1970's hit song "Peace Train." Promoting peace these days seems so un-American. Reason enough to send him back -- better still, off with his head. September 21, 2004 Enough of dodging hurricanes. The miserable summer is giving way to a climate hospitable to humans. I feel life coming back. Back to normal. Maybe some actual creativity will follow. I'll say this, Florida is a great place to live - October through March. Anytime else it's hell-on-earth-with-humidity. Of course, relative to life in Baghdad, maybe it's not so bad. Oh to be back in Coastal California! September 6, 2004 9:30 PM I recall clearly now the thing I hate most about hurricanes - the miserable heat + humidity one must endure after things get back to "normal." The "haves" and "have nots" fall into two distinct categories -- who has power and who does not. I don't miss TV and I don't care that my food is a day from going bad in the fridge. It's going to be a hot sleepless night. I thought there was hope when the power came on for an hour at five. I opted to stay here. Then it came on for a few minutes at seven. Now the crews must have gone home for the night -- wimps. So this is what life is like in Baghdad. God, we are a spoiled lot. September 6, 2004 9:40 AM Now the tedium sets in . I'll take my last hot shower and have some cold cereal and then take my first cruise around town to see if anyone has some hot coffee. I'll also charge my computer battery, which is about to go dead. Exciting stuff! September 5, 2004, 9:20 PM Yes, a non-event relative to what the media made of it, but an epiphany of sorts, living on battery back-up with a phone line and no TV. It is still cool enough to sleep well tonight, but the true test will be if the power is back tomorrow. I've been through three hurricanes and this was not one of them. Time to move on. September 5 2004, 4:20 PM A Non-Event? I lost power at 2:11 PM, darn, as I thought we would last longer as all utilities are underground in this community. Oddly the phone still works and I have my DSL Modem plugged into my backup battery. Let's hope my Eastlake neighbors, with their million dollar estates, have some clout so we can get power back by tomorrow. One night without AC is bearable and there will be some hot water left for a shower in the morning. After that, I'll start looking for a hotel. As you may know, I don't handle heat + humidity too well. The worst of the storm is hitting the Clearwater area in the next hour or so. So far, it is way over-rated, here in Tampa Bay anyway. The local media is hyping it up but people are still out and about. Finding an open gas station with hot pizza seems a most popular pursuit. Attempted looting seems to be abundant as well as the media is catching people in the act.
Horizontal Rain I found my old Sony CD player which has a radio in it, so I can listen in to about 3 of the local TV newscasts. About 7:00 PM tonight I'll fire up the trusty mini-Weber Kettle and grill some spicy chicken and vegetables. I have one bottle of Chardonnay that should still be cold! So, I'm happy to report, no major impact to me. I hope the majority of Floridian's faired as well -- Ivan is about tens days away. I wonder what my friends in California are doing today? How I long for a cool breezy cruise up Pacific Coast Highway! September 5 2004, 8:20 AM Well I'm getting really tired of reporting hurricanes here on the old Blog and this slow moving monster has finally made landfall on the east coast and is heading my way at about the pace of a snail climbing a wall. We had a few "feeder bands" come through starting yesterday and I awoke to some wind gusts but little else. Yet Frances is coming.
I had a flight booked to go home for the weekend, but that was cancelled in spite of the fact that the sun was out and most of my neighbors were in the pool. Of course at home, I'm much better equipped to handle such events with a generator and satellite dishes for both the internet and DirecTV. Here I don't even have a portable radio and I saw no point in buying one yesterday. Once the power goes off, I have maybe five hours of computing time with the laptop plugged into a fairly good battery backup system. I suppose I could plug my alarm clock into that is well and listen to the Bay 9 News simulcast if boredom sets in. I've got my iPod and iPaq fully charged, a good battery powered reading lamp and plenty of time to finally get things organized here (I still haven't unpacked from my condo "flood" and dodging Charley). My freezer is packed with block ice and enough steak, chicken and seafood to keep my handy little Weber charcoal grill busy for a week. I've stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies, lots of spring water, healthy snacks and canned goods (ugh). My biggest concern is a tree falling on my truck and I may up to move it out into a big parking lot. If the power does go, so does the air conditioning and that is absolutely dreadful. So for me, this looks like an inconvenience at worst. Many again, will not be so lucky. I see the idiot news media are out in full force again, seemingly disappointed that the storm did not remain a Category 4. I'd like to see one show up here and I'd smack 'em with a palm frond. The weekend plan was to celebrate the symbolic end of summer and pull myself out of the Summertime Blues with some new and refreshing Blog "content." August was miserable, but not a complete waste: I did work my butt off, so at least my bank account is healthy. That reminds me: I have no excuse not to get some exercise in. I best start now while it's still cool in here. I guess that new content will have to wait until next week. Wish me luck!
© 2000-2004 Michael Milauskas - Composites-By-Design Corporation |
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